Optimizing power efficiency of a power amplifier circuit to reduce power consumption in a remote unit in a wireless distribution system (wds)

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to optimizing power efficiency of a power amplifier circuit to reduce power consumption in a remote unit in a wireless distribution system (WDS). A power amplifier circuit is provided in the remote unit to amplify a received input signal associated with a signal channel(s) to generate an output signal at an aggregated peak power. In this regard, a control circuit is configured to analyze at least one physical property related to the signal channel(s) to determine a maximum output power of the power amplifier circuit. Accordingly, the control circuit configures the power amplifier circuit according to the determined maximum output power. By configuring the maximum output power based on the signal channel(s) in the input signal, it may be possible to optimize the power efficiency of the power amplifier circuit, thus helping to reduce the power consumption of the remote unit.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates generally to reducing radio frequency (RF)interference in a wireless distribution system (WDS), such as adistributed antenna system (DAS), and more particularly to reducing RFinterference in uplink RF communications signals in a remote unit in aWDS.

Wireless customers are increasingly demanding digital data services,such as streaming video signals. At the same time, some wirelesscustomers use their wireless communications devices in areas that arepoorly serviced by conventional cellular networks, such as insidecertain buildings or areas where there is little cellular coverage. Oneresponse to the intersection of these two concerns has been the use ofDASs. DASs include remote units configured to receive and transmitcommunications signals to client devices within an antenna range of theremote units. DASs can be particularly useful when deployed insidebuildings or other indoor environments where the wireless communicationsdevices may not otherwise be able to effectively receive RF signals froma source.

In this regard, FIG. 1 illustrates a distribution of communicationsservices to remote coverage areas 100(1)-100(N) of a WDS provided in theform of a DAS 102, wherein ‘N’ is the number of remote coverage areas.These communications services can include cellular services, wirelessservices, such RF identification (RFID) tracking, Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi), local area network (LAN), and wireless LAN (WLAN), wirelesssolutions (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Global Positioning System (GPS),signal-based, and others) for location-based services, and combinationsthereof, as examples. The remote coverage areas 100(1)-100(N) may beremotely located. In this regard, the remote coverage areas100(1)-100(N) are created by and centered on remote units 104(1)-104(N)connected to a central unit 106 (e.g., a head-end equipment, a head-endcontroller, or a head-end unit). The central unit 106 may becommunicatively coupled to a signal source 108, for example a basetransceiver station (BTS) or a baseband unit (BBU). In this regard, thecentral unit 106 receives downlink communications signals 110D from thesignal source 108 to be distributed to the remote units 104(1)-104(N).The remote units 104(1)-104(N) are configured to receive the downlinkcommunications signals 110D from the central unit 106 over acommunications medium 112 to be distributed to the respective remotecoverage areas 100(1)-100(N) of the remote units 104(1)-104(N). Each ofthe remote units 104(1)-104(N) may include an RF transmitter/receiverand a respective antenna 114(1)-114(N) operably connected to the RFtransmitter/receiver to wirelessly distribute the communicationsservices to client devices 116 within the respective remote coverageareas 100(1)-100(N). The remote units 104(1)-104(N) are also configuredto receive uplink communications signals 110U from the client devices116 in the respective remote coverage areas 100(1)-100(N) to bedistributed to the signal source 108. The size of each of the remotecoverage areas 100(1)-100(N) is determined by the amount of RF powertransmitted by the respective remote units 104(1)-104(N), receiversensitivity, antenna gain, and RF environment, as well as by RFtransmitter/receiver sensitivity of the client devices 116. The clientdevices 116 usually have a fixed maximum RF receiver sensitivity, sothat the above-mentioned properties of the remote units 104(1)-104(N)mainly determine the size of the respective remote coverage areas100(1)-100(N).

To provide adequate RF coverage in the remote coverage areas100(1)-100(N), each of the remote units 104(1)-104(N) may include one ormore power amplifiers to amplify the downlink communications signals110D prior to transmitting to the client devices 116. Notably, the poweramplifier(s) may consume a large amount of power when amplifying thedownlink communications signals 110D to a desired power level. Morespecifically, power consumption of the power amplifier(s) is dictated bythe maximum output power of the power amplifier(s). In other words, thepower amplifier(s) would consume the same amount of power regardless ofwhether the power amplifier(s) is outputting the maximum power or theminimum power. As such, it may be desired to optimize configuration andoperation of the power amplifier(s) to help reduce power consumption ofthe remote units 104(1)-104(N).

No admission is made that any reference cited herein constitutes priorart. Applicant expressly reserves the right to challenge the accuracyand pertinency of any cited documents.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to optimizing power efficiency of apower amplifier circuit to reduce power consumption in a remote unit ina wireless distribution system (WDS). A power amplifier circuit isprovided in the remote unit to amplify a received input signalassociated with one or more signal channels to generate an output signalat an aggregated peak power. Notably, the more signal channels the inputsignal includes, the higher the aggregated peak power of the outputsignal will be. Accordingly, the higher a maximum output power the poweramplifier circuit is configured to provide, the more power the poweramplifier circuit would consume. In this regard, a control circuit isconfigured to analyze at least one physical property related to thesignal channel(s) to determine the maximum output power of the poweramplifier circuit. Accordingly, the control circuit configures the poweramplifier circuit according to the determined maximum output power. Byconfiguring the power amplifier circuit according to the maximum outputpower determined based on the signal channel(s) in the input signal, itmay be possible to optimize the power efficiency of the power amplifiercircuit, thus helping to reduce the power consumption of the remoteunit.

In this regard, in one aspect, a power management circuit is provided.The power management circuit includes a power amplifier circuitincluding a signal input and a signal output. The power amplifiercircuit is configured to receive an input signal comprising one or moresignal channels via the signal input. The power amplifier circuit isalso configured to amplify the received input signal to generate anoutput signal at an aggregated peak power. The power amplifier circuitis also configured to provide the output signal to the signal output.The power management circuit also includes a control circuit. Thecontrol circuit is configured to analyze at least one physical propertyrelated to the one or more signal channels of the input signal. Thecontrol circuit is also configured to determine a maximum output powerfor the power amplifier circuit to amplify the received input signal tothe aggregated peak power based on the at least one physical property ofthe one or more signal channels. The maximum output power is greaterthan or equal to the aggregated peak power of the output signal. Thecontrol circuit is also configured to configure the power amplifiercircuit according to the determined maximum output power.

In another aspect, a method for configuring a power amplifier circuit ina remote unit in a WDS is provided. The method includes receiving aninput signal comprising one or more signal channels. The method alsoincludes analyzing at least one physical property related to the one ormore signal channels of the input signal. The method also includesdetermining a maximum output power for a power amplifier circuit toamplify the received input signal to an aggregated peak power based onthe at least one physical property of the one or more signal channels.The maximum output power is greater than or equal to the aggregated peakpower. The method also includes configuring the power amplifier circuitaccording to the determined maximum output power. The method alsoincludes amplifying the received input signal to generate an outputsignal at the aggregated peak power.

In another aspect, a WDS is provided. The WDS includes a plurality ofremote units. The plurality of remote units is configured to receive andconvert a plurality of downlink communications signals into a pluralityof downlink radio frequency (RF) communications signals for distributionto client devices. The plurality of remote units is also configured toreceive a plurality of uplink RF communications signals from the clientdevices and convert the plurality of uplink RF communications signalsinto a plurality of uplink communications signals. The WDS also includesa central unit. The central unit is configured to distribute theplurality of downlink communications signals to the plurality of remoteunits. The central unit is also configured to receive the plurality ofuplink communications signals from the plurality of remote units. Atleast one selected remote unit among the plurality of remote unitsincludes a power management circuit. The power management circuitincludes a power amplifier circuit comprising a signal input and asignal output. The power amplifier circuit is configured to receive aninput signal among the plurality of downlink RF communications signals.The input signal includes one or more signal channels via the signalinput. The power amplifier circuit is also configured to amplify thereceived input signal to generate an output signal at an aggregated peakpower. The power amplifier circuit is also configured to provide theoutput signal to the signal output for distribution among the pluralityof downlink RF communications signals to the client devices. The powermanagement circuit also includes a control circuit. The control circuitis configured to analyze at least one physical property related to theone or more signal channels of the input signal. The control circuit isalso configured to determine a maximum output power for the poweramplifier circuit to amplify the received input signal to the aggregatedpeak power based on the at least one physical property of the one ormore signal channels. The maximum output power is greater than or equalto the aggregated peak power of the output signal. The control circuitis also configured to configure the power amplifier circuit according tothe determined maximum output power.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detaileddescription which follows and, in part, will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art from the description or recognized bypracticing the embodiments as described in the written description andclaims hereof, as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are merely exemplary and are intendedto provide an overview or framework to understand the nature andcharacter of the claims.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitutea part of this specification. The drawings illustrate one or moreembodiments, and together with the description serve to explainprinciples and operation of the various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary wireless distributionsystem (WDS), which may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) forexample;

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary power management circuitconfigured to analyze at least one physical property of one or moresignal channels associated with an input signal to determine a maximumoutput power of an output signal by analyzing the input signal;

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary power management circuitconfigured to analyze at least one physical property of one or moresignal channels associated with an input signal to determine a maximumoutput power of an output signal by analyzing the output signal;

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of an exemplary power management circuitconfigured to analyze at least one physical property of one or moresignal channels associated with an input signal to determine a maximumoutput power of an output signal by analyzing a digital representationof the input signal;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary process that the power managementcircuit of FIG. 2A can employ to configure a power amplifier circuit toreduce power consumption;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary power management circuitconfigured to enable one or more selected power amplifiers among aplurality of power amplifiers in a power amplifier circuit based on themaximum output power of FIGS. 2A-2C;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram an exemplary WDS provided in the form ofan optical fiber-based WDS that can include a plurality of remote unitsthat may employ the power management circuits of FIGS. 2A-2C and FIG. 4to help reduce power consumption of the remote units;

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic cut-away diagram of an exemplary buildinginfrastructure in which a WDS, such as the WDS of FIG. 5, including oneor more remote units that may employ the power management circuits ofFIGS. 2A-2C and FIG. 4 to help reduce power consumption of the remoteunit(s); and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram representation of additional detailillustrating an exemplary computer system that could be employed in acontroller, including a control circuit in the power management circuitsof FIGS. 2A-2C and FIG. 4, for determining the maximum output power ofthe input signal.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to optimizing power efficiency of apower amplifier circuit to reduce power consumption in a remote unit ina wireless distribution system (WDS). A power amplifier circuit isprovided in the remote unit to amplify a received input signalassociated with one or more signal channels to generate an output signalat an aggregated peak power. Notably, the more signal channels the inputsignal includes, the higher the aggregated peak power of the outputsignal will be. Accordingly, the higher a maximum output power the poweramplifier circuit is configured to provide, the more power the poweramplifier circuit would consume. In this regard, a control circuit isconfigured to analyze at least one physical property related to thesignal channel(s) to determine the maximum output power of the poweramplifier circuit. Accordingly, the control circuit configures the poweramplifier circuit according to the determined maximum output power. Byconfiguring the power amplifier circuit according to the maximum outputpower determined based on the signal channel(s) in the input signal, itmay be possible to optimize the power efficiency of the power amplifiercircuit, thus helping to reduce the power consumption of the remoteunit.

In a WDS, a remote unit may be configured to support multiple serviceoperators and/or communicate radio frequency (RF) communications signalsin multiple signal channels. The actual number of signal channels to besupported by a remote unit may not be known in advance and may changedynamically based on service and capacity needs. Since the actual numberof signal channels to be amplified by one or more power amplifiers inthe remote unit is not known in advance, the power amplifier(s) may beconfigured based on an estimated maximum number of signal channels. Inaddition, the maximum output power of the power amplifier(s) may be sodetermined to support worst-case aggregated peak powers of the estimatedmaximum number of signal channels. Since the power amplifier(s) may be aclass A or class A/B power amplifier(s), power level of input signalsmay have very little impact on actual power consumption of the poweramplifier(s). In other words, the power amplifier(s) may consume almostthe same amount of power regardless of whether the power amplifier(s) isgenerating the maximum output power or any aggregated output power lessthan the maximum output power. Hence, it may be necessary to reconfigurethe maximum output power of the power amplifier(s) (e.g., dynamically)to help optimize power efficiency and reduce power consumption of thepower amplifier(s). As discussed in the exemplary aspects below, it maybe possible to determine the maximum output power of the poweramplifier(s) based on physical properties of the signal channels andconfigured the power amplifier(s) accordingly. By configuring the poweramplifier(s) according to the maximum output power of the poweramplifier(s) determined based on the physical properties of the signalchannel(s), it may be possible to optimize power efficiency of the poweramplifier circuit, thus helping to reduce power consumption of theremote unit.

In this regard, FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary powermanagement circuit 200 configured to analyze at least one physicalproperty of one or more signal channels 202(1)-202(N) associated with aninput signal 204 to determine an maximum output power P_(MAX) of anoutput signal 206 by analyzing the input signal 204. The powermanagement circuit 200 includes a power amplifier circuit 208 thatincludes a signal input 210 and a signal output 212. The power amplifiercircuit 208 is configured to receive the input signal 204 at an inputpower P_(IN) via the signal input 210. The power amplifier circuit 208is further configured to amplify the input signal 204 to generate theoutput signal 206 at an aggregated peak power POUT (P_(OUT)≥P_(IN)) andprovide the output signal 206 to the signal output 212. In anon-limiting example, the input signal 204 and the output signal 206 canbe time-varying signals (e.g., sinusoidal signals) with time-varyingamplitudes. As such, the aggregated peak power P_(OUT) corresponds to apeak amplitude of the output signal 206. The output signal 206 caninclude the signal channels 202(1)-202(N) as well.

The power management circuit 200 includes a control circuit 214, whichcan be microprocessor, a microcontroller, or a field-programmable gatearray (FPGA), for example. The control circuit 214 is configured toanalyze at least one physical property related to the signal channels202(1)-202(N) to determine the maximum output power P_(MAX) for thepower amplifier circuit 208. In a non-limiting example, the physicalproperty related to the signal channels 202(1)-202(N) can include acount of the signal channels 202(1)-202(N), a respective bandwidth ofthe signal channels 202(1)-202(N), a respective power of the signalchannels 202(1)-202(N), and/or a respective waveform of the signalchannels 202(1)-202(N). As discussed earlier, the signal channels202(1)-202(N) may change (may be added or removed) dynamically based onservice and capacity needs. As such, the control circuit 214 can beconfigured to dynamically analyze the physical property related to thesignal channels 202(1)-202(N) to determine the maximum output powerP_(MAX) for the power amplifier circuit 208. The maximum output powerP_(MAX) of the power amplifier circuit 208 needs to be greater than orequal to the aggregated peak power P_(OUT) of the output signal 206(P_(MAX)≥P_(OUT)) to be able to amplify the output signal 206 to theaggregated peak power P_(OUT).

According to pervious discussions, power consumption of the poweramplifier circuit 208 is dictated by the maximum output power P_(MAX).As such, the control circuit 214 should select a smallest maximum outputpower P_(MAX) required to amplify the input signal 204 to the aggregatedpeak power P_(OUT), among many possible options. For example, if theaggregated peak power P_(OUT) is 29 decibel-milliwatt (dBm), the controlcircuit 214 should choose the maximum output power P_(MAX) higher thanand as close to 29 dBm as possible. Upon determining the maximum outputpower P_(MAX), the control circuit 214 configures the power amplifiercircuit 208 according to the determined maximum output power P_(MAX). Assuch, the power amplifier circuit 208 would not be configured to supportpower amplifying capabilities greater than what is actually needed. As aresult, it may be possible to optimize power efficiency of the poweramplifier circuit 208, thus helping to reduce power consumption of thepower amplifier circuit 208.

The control circuit 214 may configure the power amplifier circuit 208according to a process. In this regard, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of anexemplary process 300 that the power management circuit 200 of FIG. 2Acan employ to configure the power amplifier circuit 208 to reduce powerconsumption.

With reference to FIG. 3, the power management circuit 200 receives theinput signal 204 that includes the signal channels 202(1)-202(N) (block302). The control circuit 214 analyzes the physical property of thesignal channels 202(1)-202(N) of the input signal 204 (block 304). Thecontrol circuit 214 determines the maximum output power P_(MAX) for thepower amplifier circuit 208 to amplify the received input signal 204 tothe aggregated peak power P_(OUT) based on the physical property of thesignal channels 202(1)-202(N) (block 306). The control circuit 214ensures that the maximum output power P_(MAX) is greater than or equalto the aggregated peak power P_(OUT) (P_(MAX)≥P_(OUT)). The controlcircuit 214 then configures the power amplifier circuit 208 according tothe determined maximum output power P_(MAX) (block 308). The poweramplifier circuit 208, in turn, amplifies the input signal 204 togenerate the output signal 206 at the aggregated peak power P_(OUT)(block 310).

With reference back to FIG. 2A, the control circuit 214 includes signalanalysis circuitry 216 and power setting circuitry 218. In anon-limiting example, the signal analysis circuitry 216 and the powersetting circuitry 218 may be separated or integrated into an integratedcircuit (IC). The signal analysis circuitry 216 may be configured toanalyze the physical property related to the signal channels202(1)-202(N) and determine the maximum output power P_(MAX) for thepower amplifier circuit 208 to amplify the received input signal 204 tothe aggregated peak power P_(OUT) based on the physical property of thesignal channels 202(1)-202(N). The signal analysis circuitry 216 mayprovide the determined maximum output power P_(MAX) to the power settingcircuitry 218 via a signal 220, and the power setting circuitry 218 maybe configured to configure the power amplifier circuit 208 according tothe determined maximum output power P_(MAX).

In a non-limiting example, the signal analysis circuitry 216 may analyzethe physical property of the input signal 204 by analyzing a sample 222of the input signal 204. Accordingly, the signal analysis circuitry 216may determine the count of the signal channels 202(1)-202(N), therespective bandwidth of the signal channels 202(1)-202(N), therespective power of the signal channels 202(1)-202(N), and/or therespective waveform of the signal channels 202(1)-202(N) based on thesample 222.

As an alternative to analyzing the sample 222 taken from the inputsignal 204, the signal analysis circuitry 216 may also analyze theoutput signal 206. In this regard, FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of anexemplary power management circuit 200(1) configured to analyze thephysical property of the signal channels 202(1)-202(N) associated withthe input signal 204 to determine the maximum output power P_(MAX) ofthe output signal 206 by analyzing the output signal 206. Commonelements between FIGS. 2A and 2B are shown therein with common elementnumbers and will not be re-described herein.

With reference to FIG. 2B, the signal analysis circuitry 216 maydetermine the maximum output power P_(MAX) of the power amplifiercircuit 208 by analyzing a sample 224 of the output signal 206.Accordingly, the signal analysis circuitry 216 may determine the countof the signal channels 202(1)-202(N), the respective bandwidth of thesignal channels 202(1)-202(N), the respective power of the signalchannels 202(1)-202(N), and/or the respective waveform of the signalchannels 202(1)-202(N) based on the sample 224. In a non-limitingexample, the signal analysis circuitry 216 may analyze the sample 224 ofthe output signal 206 in conjunction with the sample 222 of the inputsignal 204.

The signal analysis circuitry 216 may also be configured analyze thephysical property of the input signal 204 based on digital means. Inthis regard, FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of an exemplary powermanagement circuit 200(2) configured to analyze the physical property ofthe signal channels 202(1)-202(N) associated with the input signal 204to determine the maximum output power P_(MAX) of the output signal 206by analyzing a digital representation of the input signal 204. Commonelements between FIGS. 2A and 2C are shown therein with common elementnumbers and will not be re-described herein.

With reference to FIG. 2C, the signal analysis circuitry 216 may beconfigured to analyze the physical property of the signal channels202(1)-202(N) by analyzing a digital signal 226 that corresponds to theinput signal 204. In a non-limiting example, the digital signal 226 isencoded in common public radio interface (CPRI) format. In addition to,or in conjunction with, analyzing the physical property of the signalchannels 202(1)-202(N) based on the digital signal 226, the signalanalysis circuitry 216 may also be configured to retrieve the physicalproperty of the signal channels 202(1)-202(N) from a database.

With reference back to FIG. 2A, the power amplifier circuit 208 isconfigured to receive a bias voltage V_(DD) at a voltage input 227 froma power supply 228 and amplify the received input signal 204 based onthe bias voltage V_(DD) to generate the output signal 206 at theaggregated peak power P_(OUT). In a non-limiting example, the controlcircuit 214 can configure the power amplifier circuit 208 to operate ina saturated mode. In this regard, the aggregated peak power P_(OUT) willbe dependent on the bias voltage V_(DD), as opposed to power amplifyinggain of the power amplifier circuit 208. As such, the control circuit214 can adjust the bias voltage V_(DD) to cause the power amplifiercircuit 208 to provide the determined maximum output power P_(MAX) thatis greater than or equal to the aggregated peak power P_(OUT).

In another non-limiting example, the power amplifier circuit 208 mayinclude multiple power amplifiers. Accordingly, the control circuit 214may configure the power amplifier circuit 208 to provide the determinedmaximum output power P_(MAX) by enabling an appropriate number of themultiple power amplifiers. In this regard, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagramof an exemplary power management circuit 400 configured to enable one ormore selected power amplifiers 402(1)-402(K) among a plurality of poweramplifiers 404(1)-404(L) in a power amplifier circuit 406 based on themaximum output power P_(MAX) of FIGS. 2A-2C. Common elements betweenFIGS. 2A-2C and 4 are shown therein with common element numbers and willnot be re-described herein.

With reference to FIG. 4, the power amplifiers 404(1)-404(L) areconfigured to provide a plurality of peak output powers P₁-P_(L),respectively. The peak output powers P₁-P_(L) may be the same ordifferent. The control circuit 214 is configured to determine themaximum output power P_(MAX) for the power amplifier circuit 406 byanalyzing the physical property of the signal channels 202(1)-202(N).Based on the determined maximum output power P_(MAX), the controlcircuit 214 can determine and enable the selected power amplifiers402(1)-402(K) to provide the maximum output power P_(MAX). For example,if the peak output powers P₁-P_(L) are all equal to 0.25 watts (W) andthe determined maximum output power P_(MAX) is 0.7 W, the controlcircuit 214 would determine and enable three selected power amplifiersto provide a combined peak output power of 0.75 W (0.25 W×3=0.75 W),which is greater than or equal to the determined maximum output powerP_(MAX) of 0.7 W. To maximize power savings, the control circuit 214would only enable a minimum set of the selected power amplifiers402(1)-402(K) required to satisfy the determined maximum output powerP_(MAX). In the case of the above example, the control circuit 214should not enable more than the three selected power amplifiers becausethe combined peak output power (0.75 W) of the three selected poweramplifiers is sufficient to satisfy the determined maximum output powerP_(MAX) of 0.7 W.

The control circuit 214 may be further configured to disable poweramplifiers of the power amplifiers 404(1)-404(L) that are not among theselected power amplifiers 402(1)-402(K). For example, after selectingthe power amplifiers 404(1)-404(K) among the power amplifiers404(1)-404(L) (L>K) as the selected power amplifiers 402(1)-402(K), thecontrol circuit 214 may disable power amplifiers 404(K+1)-404(L).

The power amplifier circuit 406 may include a splitter 408 configured toreceive and split the input signal 204 into one or more channel-basedinput signals 410(1)-410(K). Each of the channel-based input signals410(1)-410(K) may correspond to at least one of the signal channels202(1)-202(N) associated with the input signal 204. The splitter 408provides the channel-based input signals 410(1)-410(K) to the selectedpower amplifiers 402(1)-402(K), respectively. The selected poweramplifiers 402(1)-402(K) are configured to amplify the channel-basedinput signals 410(1)-410(K) to generate one or more channel-based outputsignals 412(1)-412(K), respectively. The power amplifier circuit 406 mayfurther include a combiner 414 to combine the channel-based outputsignals 412(1)-412(K) to generate the output signal 206 at theaggregated peak power P_(OUT).

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram an exemplary WDS 500 provided in the formof an optical fiber-based WDS that can include a plurality of remoteunits that may employ the power management circuit 200 of FIG. 2A, thepower management circuit 200(1) of FIG. 2B, the power management circuit200(2) of FIG. 2C, and the power management circuit 400 of FIG. 4 tohelp reduce power consumption of the remote units. The WDS 500 includesan optical fiber for distributing communications services for multiplefrequency bands. The WDS 500 in this example is comprised of three (3)main components. A plurality of radio interfaces provided in the form ofradio interface modules (RIMs) 502(1)-502(M) are provided in a centralunit 504 to receive and process a plurality of downlink communicationssignals 506D(1)-506D(R) prior to optical conversion into downlinkoptical fiber-based communications signals. The downlink communicationssignals 506D(1)-506D(R) may be received from a base station as anexample. The RIMs 502(1)-502(M) provide both downlink and uplinkinterfaces for signal processing. The notations “1-R” and “1-M” indicatethat any number of the referenced component, 1-R and 1-M, respectively,may be provided. The central unit 504 is configured to accept the RIMs502(1)-502(M) as modular components that can easily be installed andremoved or replaced in the central unit 504. In one example, the centralunit 504 is configured to support up to twelve (12) RIMs 502(1)-502(12).Each of the RIMs 502(1)-502(M) can be designed to support a particulartype of radio source or range of radio sources (i.e., frequencies) toprovide flexibility in configuring the central unit 504 and the WDS 500to support the desired radio sources.

For example, one RIM 502 may be configured to support the PersonalizedCommunications System (PCS) radio band. Another RIM 502 may beconfigured to support the 800 megahertz (MHz) radio band. In thisexample, by inclusion of the RIMs 502(1)-502(M), the central unit 504could be configured to support and distribute communications signals onboth PCS and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) 700 radio bands, as an example.The RIMs 502(1)-502(M) may be provided in the central unit 504 thatsupport any frequency bands desired, including, but not limited to, theUS Cellular band, PCS band, Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) band, 700MHz band, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) 900, GSM 1800,and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The RIMs502(1)-502(M) may also be provided in the central unit 504 that supportany wireless technologies desired, including but not limited to CodeDivision Multiple Access (CDMA), CDMA200, 1×RTT, Evolution-Data Only(EV-DO), UMTS, High-speed Packet Access (HSPA), GSM, General PacketRadio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), TimeDivision Multiple Access (TDMA), LTE, iDEN, and Cellular Digital PacketData (CDPD).

The RIMs 502(1)-502(M) may be provided in the central unit 504 thatsupport any frequencies desired, including but not limited to US FCC andIndustry Canada frequencies (824-849 MHz on uplink and 869-894 MHz ondownlink), US FCC and Industry Canada frequencies (1850-1915 MHz onuplink and 1930-1995 MHz on downlink), US FCC and Industry Canadafrequencies (1710-1755 MHz on uplink and 2110-2155 MHz on downlink), USFCC frequencies (698-716 MHz and 776-787 MHz on uplink and 728-746 MHzon downlink), EU R & TTE frequencies (880-915 MHz on uplink and 925-960MHz on downlink), EU R & TTE frequencies (1710-1785 MHz on uplink and1805-1880 MHz on downlink), EU R & TTE frequencies (1920-1980 MHz onuplink and 2110-2170 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (806-824 MHzon uplink and 851-869 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (896-901 MHzon uplink and 929-941 MHz on downlink), US FCC frequencies (793-805 MHzon uplink and 763-775 MHz on downlink), and US FCC frequencies(2495-2690 MHz on uplink and downlink).

With continuing reference to FIG. 5, the downlink communications signals506D(1)-506D(R) are provided to a plurality of optical interfacesprovided in the form of optical interface modules (OIMs) 508(1)-508(N)in this embodiment to convert the downlink communications signals506D(1)-506D(R) into a plurality of downlink optical fiber-basedcommunications signals 510D(1)-510D(R). The notation “1-N” indicatesthat any number of the referenced component 1-N may be provided. TheOIMs 508(1)-508(N) may be configured to provide a plurality of opticalinterface components (OICs) that contain optical-to-electrical (O/E) andelectrical-to-optical (E/O) converters, as will be described in moredetail below. The OIMs 508(1)-508(N) support the radio bands that can beprovided by the RIMs 502(1)-502(M), including the examples previouslydescribed above.

The OIMs 508(1)-508(N) each include E/O converters to convert thedownlink communications signals 506D(1)-506D(R) into the downlinkoptical fiber-based communications signals 510D(1)-510D(R). The downlinkoptical fiber-based communications signals 510D(1)-510D(R) arecommunicated over a downlink optical fiber-based communications medium512D to a plurality of remote units 514(1)-514(S). At least one selectedremote unit among the remote units 514(1)-514(S), for example, remoteunit 514(1), is configured to employ the power management circuit 200 ofFIG. 2A, the power management circuit 200(1) of FIG. 2B, the powermanagement circuit 200(2) of FIG. 2C, and the power management circuit400 of FIG. 4 to help reduce power consumption in the selected theremote unit 514(1). The notation “1-S” indicates that any number of thereferenced component 1-S may be provided. Remote unit O/E convertersprovided in the remote units 514(1)-514(S) convert the downlink opticalfiber-based communications signals 510D(1)-510D(R) back into thedownlink communications signals 506D(1)-506D(R), which are the convertedinto a plurality of downlink RF communications signals and provided toantennas 516(1)-516(S) in the remote units 514(1)-514(S) to clientdevices in the reception range of the antennas 516(1)-516(S). In thisregard, the power amplifier circuit 208 in the power management circuit200 of FIG. 2A, the power management circuit 200(1) of FIG. 2B, and thepower management circuit 200(2) of FIG. 2C as well as the poweramplifier circuit 406 in the power management circuit 400 of FIG. 4 areconfigured to receive the input signal 204 among the downlink RFcommunications signals. The power amplifier circuit 208 and the poweramplifier circuit 406 amplify the input signal 204 to generate theoutput signal 206 for distribution among the downlink RF communicationssignals to the client devices via the antennas 516(1)-516(S).

The remote units 514(1)-514(S) receive a plurality of uplink RFcommunications signals from the client devices through the antennas516(1)-516(S). The remote units 514(1)-514(S) convert the uplink RFcommunications signals into a plurality of uplink communications signals518U(1)-518U(S). Remote unit E/O converters are also provided in theremote units 514(1)-514(S) to convert the uplink communications signals518U(1)-518U(S) into a plurality of uplink optical fiber-basedcommunications signals 510U(1)-510U(S). The remote units 514(1)-514(S)communicate the uplink optical fiber-based communications signals510U(1)-510U(S) over an uplink optical fiber-based communications medium512U to the OIMs 508(1)-508(N) in the central unit 504. The OIMs508(1)-508(N) include O/E converters that convert the received uplinkoptical fiber-based communications signals 510U(1)-510U(S) into aplurality of uplink communications signals 520U(1)-520U(S), which areprocessed by the RIMs 502(1)-502(M) and provided as the uplinkcommunications signals 520U(1)-520U(S). The central unit 504 may providethe uplink communications signals 520U(1)-520U(S) to a base station orother communications system.

Note that the downlink optical fiber-based communications medium 512Dand the uplink optical fiber-based communications medium 512U connectedto each of the remote units 514(1)-514(S) may be a common opticalfiber-based communications medium, wherein for example, wave divisionmultiplexing (WDM) is employed to provide the downlink opticalfiber-based communications signals 510D(1)-510D(R) and the uplinkoptical fiber-based communications signals 510U(1)-510U(S) on the sameoptical fiber-based communications medium.

The WDS 500 of FIG. 5 may be provided in an indoor environment, asillustrated in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a partial schematic cut-away diagram ofan exemplary building infrastructure 600 in which a WDS, such as the WDS500 of FIG. 5, including one or more remote units that may employ thepower management circuit 200 of FIG. 2A, the power management circuit200(1) of FIG. 2B, the power management circuit 200(2) of FIG. 2C, andthe power management circuit 400 of FIG. 4 to help reduce powerconsumption of the remote unit(s). The building infrastructure 600 inthis embodiment includes a first (ground) floor 602(1), a second floor602(2), and a third floor 602(3). The floors 602(1)-602(3) are servicedby a central unit 604 to provide antenna coverage areas 606 in thebuilding infrastructure 600. The central unit 604 is communicativelycoupled to a base station 608 to receive downlink communications signals610D from the base station 608. The central unit 604 is communicativelycoupled to a plurality of remote units 612 to distribute the downlinkcommunications signals 610D to the remote units 612 and to receiveuplink communications signals 610U from the remote units 612, aspreviously discussed above. The downlink communications signals 610D andthe uplink communications signals 610U communicated between the centralunit 604 and the remote units 612 are carried over a riser cable 614.The riser cable 614 may be routed through interconnect units (ICUs)616(1)-616(3) dedicated to each of the floors 602(1)-602(3) that routethe downlink communications signals 610D and the uplink communicationssignals 610U to the remote units 612 and also provide power to theremote units 612 via array cables 618.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram representation of additional detailillustrating an exemplary computer system 700 that could be employed ina controller, including the control circuit 214 in the power managementcircuit 200 of FIG. 2A, the power management circuit 200(1) of FIG. 2B,the power management circuit 200(2) of FIG. 2C, and the power managementcircuit 400 of FIG. 4, for determining the maximum output power P_(MAX)of the input signal 204. In this regard, the computer system 700 isadapted to execute instructions from an exemplary computer-readablemedium to perform these and/or any of the functions or processingdescribed herein.

In this regard, the computer system 700 in FIG. 7 may include a set ofinstructions that may be executed to predict frequency interference toavoid or reduce interference in a multi-frequency distributed antennasystem (DAS). The computer system 700 may be connected (e.g., networked)to other machines in a local area network (LAN), an intranet, anextranet, or the Internet. While only a single device is illustrated,the term “device” shall also be taken to include any collection ofdevices that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) ofinstructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein. The computer system 700 may be a circuit or circuits included inan electronic board card, such as, a printed circuit board (PCB), aserver, a personal computer, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a computing pad, a mobile device, orany other device, and may represent, for example, a server or a user'scomputer.

The exemplary computer system 700 in this embodiment includes aprocessing circuit or processor 702, a main memory 704 (e.g., read-onlymemory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), such assynchronous DRAM (SDRAM), etc.), and a static memory 706 (e.g., flashmemory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), which may communicatewith each other via a data bus 708. Alternatively, the processor 702 maybe connected to the main memory 704 and/or the static memory 706directly or via some other connectivity means. The processor 702 may bea controller, and the main memory 704 or the static memory 706 may beany type of memory.

The processor 702 represents one or more general-purpose processingdevices, such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like.More particularly, the processor 702 may be a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set computing(RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW)microprocessor, a processor implementing other instruction sets, orother processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Theprocessor 702 is configured to execute processing logic in instructionsfor performing the operations and steps discussed herein.

The computer system 700 may further include a network interface device710. The computer system 700 also may or may not include an input 712,configured to receive input and selections to be communicated to thecomputer system 700 when executing instructions. The computer system 700also may or may not include an output 714, including, but not limitedto, a display, a video display unit (e.g., a liquid crystal display(LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device (e.g.,a keyboard), and/or a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse).

The computer system 700 may or may not include a data storage devicethat includes instructions 716 stored in a computer-readable medium 718.The instructions 716 may also reside, completely or at least partially,within the main memory 704 and/or within the processor 702 duringexecution thereof by the computer system 700, the main memory 704 andthe processor 702 also constituting a computer-readable medium. Theinstructions 716 may further be transmitted or received over a network720 via the network interface device 710.

While the computer-readable medium 718 is shown in an exemplaryembodiment to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium”should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches andservers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any mediumthat is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructionsfor execution by the processing device and that cause the processingdevice to perform any one or more of the methodologies of theembodiments disclosed herein. The term “computer-readable medium” shallaccordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-statememories, optical medium, and magnetic medium.

The embodiments disclosed herein include various steps. The steps of theembodiments disclosed herein may be formed by hardware components or maybe embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used tocause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with theinstructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may beperformed by a combination of hardware and software.

The embodiments disclosed herein may be provided as a computer programproduct, or software, that may include a machine-readable medium (orcomputer-readable medium) having stored thereon instructions, which maybe used to program a computer system (or other electronic devices) toperform a process according to the embodiments disclosed herein. Amachine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputer). For example, a machine-readable medium includes: amachine-readable storage medium (e.g., ROM, random access memory(“RAM”), a magnetic disk storage medium, an optical storage medium,flash memory devices, etc.); and the like.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, it is in no way intended that anymethod set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps beperformed in a specific order. Accordingly, where a method claim doesnot actually recite an order to be followed by its steps, or it is nototherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that thesteps are to be limited to a specific order, it is in no way intendedthat any particular order be inferred.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Since modifications, combinations,sub-combinations and variations of the disclosed embodimentsincorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur topersons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to includeeverything within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

1. A power management circuit, comprising: a power amplifier circuitcomprising a signal input and a signal output, the power amplifiercircuit configured to: receive an input signal comprising one or moresignal channels via the signal input; amplify the received input signalto generate an output signal at an aggregated peak power; and providethe output signal to the signal output; and a control circuit configuredto: analyze at least one physical property related to the one or moresignal channels of the input signal; determine a maximum output powerfor the power amplifier circuit to amplify the received input signal tothe aggregated peak power based on the at least one physical property ofthe one or more signal channels, wherein the maximum output power isgreater than or equal to the aggregated peak power of the output signal;and configure the power amplifier circuit according to the determinedmaximum output power.
 2. The power management circuit of claim 1,wherein the determined maximum output power of the power amplifiercircuit is a smallest maximum output power required to amplify thereceived input signal to the aggregated peak power.
 3. The powermanagement circuit of claim 1, wherein the control circuit comprises:signal analysis circuitry configured to: analyze the at least onephysical property related to the one or more signal channels of theinput signal; and determine the maximum output power for the poweramplifier circuit to amplify the received input signal to the aggregatedpeak power based on the at least one physical property of the one ormore signal channels; and power setting circuitry configured toconfigure the power amplifier circuit according to the determinedmaximum output power.
 4. The power management circuit of claim 3,wherein the at least one physical property related to the one or moresignal channels comprises a count of the one or more signal channels, arespective bandwidth of the one or more signal channels, a respectivepower of the one or more signal channels, and a respective waveform ofthe one or more signal channels.
 5. The power management circuit ofclaim 3, wherein the signal analysis circuitry is configured to analyzethe at least one physical property of the one or more signal channels byanalyzing a sample of the input signal.
 6. The power management circuitof claim 3, wherein the signal analysis circuitry is configured toanalyze the at least one physical property of the one or more signalchannels by analyzing a sample of the output signal.
 7. The powermanagement circuit of claim 3, wherein the signal analysis circuitry isconfigured to analyze the at least one physical property of the one ormore signal channels by analyzing a digital signal corresponding to theinput signal.
 8. The power management circuit of claim 7, wherein thedigital signal is encoded in common public radio interface (CPRI)format.
 9. The power management circuit of claim 3, wherein the signalanalysis circuitry is configured to retrieve the at least one physicalproperty of the one or more signal channels from a database.
 10. Thepower management circuit of claim 1, wherein: the power amplifiercircuit is further configured to: receive a bias voltage at a voltageinput from a power supply; and amplify the received input signal basedon the bias voltage to generate the output signal at the aggregated peakpower; and the control circuit is further configured to adjust the biasvoltage to cause the power amplifier circuit to provide the determinedmaximum output power greater than or equal to the aggregated peak powerof the output signal.
 11. The power management circuit of claim 1,wherein: the power amplifier circuit comprises a plurality of poweramplifiers; and the control circuit is further configured to determineand enable one or more selected power amplifiers among the plurality ofpower amplifiers based on the determined maximum output power.
 12. Thepower management circuit of claim 11, further comprising: a splitterconfigured to split the input signal into one or more channel-basedinput signals and provides the one or more channel-based input signalsto the one or more selected power amplifiers, wherein the one or moreselected power amplifiers are configured to amplify the one or morechannel-based input signals to generate one or more channel-based outputsignals, respectively; and a combiner configured to receive and combinethe one or more channel-based output signals to generate the outputsignal at the aggregated peak power.
 13. The power management circuit ofclaim 11, wherein the control circuit is further configured to disablepower amplifiers of the plurality of power amplifiers that are not amongthe one or more selected power amplifiers.
 14. A method for configuringa power amplifier circuit in a remote unit in a wireless distributionsystem (WDS), comprising: receiving an input signal comprising one ormore signal channels; analyzing at least one physical property relatedto the one or more signal channels of the input signal; determining amaximum output power for a power amplifier circuit to amplify thereceived input signal to an aggregated peak power based on the at leastone physical property of the one or more signal channels, wherein themaximum output power is greater than or equal to the aggregated peakpower; configuring the power amplifier circuit according to thedetermined maximum output power; and amplifying the received inputsignal to generate an output signal at the aggregated peak power. 15.The method of claim 14, further comprising determining the maximumoutput power of the power amplifier circuit as a smallest maximum outputpower required to amplify the received input signal to the aggregatedpeak power.
 16. The method of claim 14, further comprising analyzing theat least one physical property of the one or more signal channels byanalyzing a sample of the input signal.
 17. The method of claim 14,further comprising analyzing the at least one physical property of theone or more signal channels by analyzing a sample of the output signal.18. The method of claim 14, further comprising analyzing the at leastone physical property of the one or more signal channels by analyzing adigital signal corresponding to the input signal.
 19. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising retrieving the at least one physicalproperty of the one or more signal channels from a database.
 20. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising adjusting a bias voltage receivedby the power amplifier circuit to provide the determined maximum outputpower greater than or equal to the aggregated peak power of the outputsignal.
 21. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining andenabling one or more selected power amplifiers among a plurality ofpower amplifiers based on the determined maximum output power.
 22. Themethod of claim 21, further comprising: splitting the input signal intoone or more channel-based input signals and providing the one or morechannel-based input signals to the one or more selected poweramplifiers; amplifying the one or more channel-based input signals togenerate one or more channel-based output signals, respectively; andcombining the one or more channel-based output signals to generate theoutput signal at the aggregated peak power.
 23. The method of claim 21,further comprising disabling power amplifiers of the plurality of poweramplifiers that are not among the one or more selected power amplifiers.24. A wireless distribution system (WDS), comprising: a plurality ofremote units configured to: receive and convert a plurality of downlinkcommunications signals into a plurality of downlink radio frequency (RF)communications signals for distribution to client devices; and receive aplurality of uplink RF communications signals from the client devicesand convert the plurality of uplink RF communications signals into aplurality of uplink communications signals; and a central unitconfigured to: distribute the plurality of downlink communicationssignals to the plurality of remote units; and receive the plurality ofuplink communications signals from the plurality of remote units;wherein at least one selected remote unit among the plurality of remoteunits comprises a power management circuit, the power management circuitcomprises: a power amplifier circuit comprising a signal input and asignal output, the power amplifier circuit configured to: receive aninput signal among the plurality of downlink RF communications signals,the input signal comprising one or more signal channels via the signalinput; amplify the received input signal to generate an output signal atan aggregated peak power; and provide the output signal to the signaloutput for distribution among the plurality of downlink RFcommunications signals to the client devices; and a control circuitconfigured to: analyze at least one physical property related to the oneor more signal channels of the input signal; determine a maximum outputpower for the power amplifier circuit to amplify the received inputsignal to the aggregated peak power based on the at least one physicalproperty of the one or more signal channels, wherein the maximum outputpower is greater than or equal to the aggregated peak power of theoutput signal; and configure the power amplifier circuit according tothe determined maximum output power. 25.-37. (canceled)